Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Turkmenistan Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 73.8% more expensive than Turkmenistan overall.

Restaurants: pay 59.1% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 65.2% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.7 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 65.1% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 7.6 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 70.9% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 53.7% less in South Africa

The cost of childcare and transportation in South Africa are more expensive than in Turkmenistan. Expenses including entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, restaurants, and clothing are lower in South Africa. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Turkmenistan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Turkmenistan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.1% less for restaurants

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$34.54 TMT120.90	$8.97 ZAR164.84	-74.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.82 TMT44.87	$4.77 ZAR87.65	-62.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.24 TMT11.34	$0.95 ZAR17.54	-70.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 TMT3.66	$0.74 ZAR13.61	-29.1%
Average			-59.1%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 65.2% less for groceries

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.39 TMT8.35	$0.99 ZAR18.20	-58.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$17.90 TMT62.65	$3.67 ZAR67.52	-79.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$16.12 TMT56.43	$4.20 ZAR77.14	-74.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.84 TMT23.93	$2.23 ZAR40.92	-67.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.38 TMT18.85	$2.03 ZAR37.26	-62.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.71 TMT9.50	$0.68 ZAR12.44	-75.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$4.01 TMT14.02	$0.62 ZAR11.34	-84.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.65 TMT12.78	$0.64 ZAR11.79	-82.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.71 TMT5.99	$0.70 ZAR12.83	-59.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 TMT3.62	$0.55 ZAR10.17	-46.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 TMT2.94	$0.61 ZAR11.18	-27.5%
Average			-65.2%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.7 times more for transportation

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.56 TMT5.47	$4.99 ZAR91.66	+219.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.55 TMT29.91	$52.31 ZAR961.09	+512.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,803.42 TMT153,311.97	$20,607.77 ZAR378,617.85	-53.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.69 TMT33.90	$8.55 ZAR157.06	-11.7%
Average			+166.6%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.1% less for housing

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$94.97 TMT332.38	$41.37 ZAR760.06	-56.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,125.36 TMT3,938.75	$382.55 ZAR7,028.50	-66.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$747.86 TMT2,617.52	$326.35 ZAR5,995.84	-56.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$435.73 TMT1,525.05	$80.40 ZAR1,477.12	-81.5%
Average			-65.1%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 7.6 times more for childcare

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.79 TMT79.77	$174.12 ZAR3,198.97	+663.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$4,033.53 ZAR74,106.30
Average			+663.9%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 70.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.06 TMT17.70	$2.11 ZAR38.73	-58.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.98 TMT24.43	$1.88 ZAR34.59	-73.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$28.49 TMT99.72	$2.90 ZAR53.36	-89.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$147.20 TMT515.19	$29.50 ZAR542.00	-80.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.25 TMT49.86	$6.62 ZAR121.65	-53.5%
Average			-70.9%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.7% less for clothing

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$85.47 TMT299.15	$47.72 ZAR876.65	-44.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$121.08 TMT423.79	$32.06 ZAR589.01	-73.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.82 TMT573.36	$90.39 ZAR1,660.68	-44.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$170.94 TMT598.29	$81.37 ZAR1,494.92	-52.4%
Average			-53.7%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: February 2025

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